Read Current Affairs of last month online, all summarized well into one digest GK Eduwrap. Also, covering all the latest questions of General Knowledge asked in General Awareness for Bank PO.
Click here to download GK Monthly Eduwrap for October 2016 in PDF Format
National – Across the India:
1. According to the recent publication released by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number flowering plants in the country.
The publication titled Endemic Vascular Plants of India also revealed that almost one of every four species of flowering plants found in India are endemic to the country.
2. The Union Finance Ministry has decided that sports infrastructure will be included under the harmonized master list of infrastructure sub-sectors.
It will include sports stadia and infrastructure for academies for training and research in sports and sports-related activities in the infrastructure sub-sectors.
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3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India Sanitation conference (INDOSAN) in New Delhi ahead of the second anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission.
INDOSAN is envisaged as an annual national event that seeks to bring together all stakeholders working in sanitation.
4. The Delhi International Airport Limited announced that the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has become the first airport in the Asia Pacific region to achieve carbon neutral status.
5. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu flagged off an all-women Mt Gorichen expedition.
This will be the first all-women team attempting to summit the second highest peak in the state.
It is considered as a technical peak and only seasoned climbers can make it to the top (6,488 m).
6. Jharkhand becomes first state to implement Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene.
The scheme is being implemented in four identified districts of the State namely Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti, and Jamtara.
7. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis declares Nagpur first digital district of India.
8. Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched Indian Bridge Management System.
IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based on the criticality of the structure.
9. Union Finance Ministry sets up Public Debt Management Cell.
It is created to streamline government borrowings and better cash management with the overall objective of deepening bond markets.
10. Union Cabinet has approved setting up of India’s first Medipark in Tamil Nadu.
It will boost the local manufacturing of hi-end products at a significantly lower cost, resulting in affordable healthcare delivery to a large section of people.
11. India is hosting the 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) from November 3 to 5, 2016 in New Delhi.
It will set the direction of Sendai Framework implementation in the region.
12. Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) achieved Platinum rating from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
It was announced by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL)
13. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India-Pakistan border will be completely sealed by December 2018.
The reason is the rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the surgical strikes across the Line of Control.
14. Maharashtra became 17th state to join Central Government’s Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) scheme.
It will help Maharashtra to reap benefits worth INR 9,725 crore by way of cheaper funds, transmission losses, energy efficiency and coal reforms during the period of the turnaround.
15. A high altitude glaciological research station ‘Himansh’ has begun functioning above 13,500 ft. in a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
Himansh station will provide much-needed fillip to the scientific research on Himalayan glaciers and its hydrological contribution.
16. The Union Government has extended anti-dumping duty on import of certain Chinese products, used in garment, toys and footwear manufacturing, for another five years i.e. till 2021.
This extension will protect domestic industry from the harm caused by dumping (import) of the cheap Chinese products.
17. Lalima Abhiyan will be launch by Madhya Pradesh government to make state free from anaemia.
It will be effective from November 1, 2016 in Madhya Pradesh.
18. Telangana has added 31 new districts in its map.
The administration should have up to date information on the districts and their residents over the implementation of various Government programmes as the total population in each of them would only be in lakhs.
19. The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad, venue of the ongoing Kabaddi World Cup, is India’s first convertible stadium.
This project converts an outdoor stadium into an indoor arena in 6 minutes at a touch of a button.
The facility has a seating capacity of 20,000 and can house 14 sports which include football but not cricket.
20. The Union Government is going to float tenders to invite bids for the development for 36 inland waterways projects in the first phase.
This move will help to tap the huge potential in the so-far-untapped inland waterways transport segment despite India being endowed with natural rivers suitable for it.
21. The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of IIM at Jammu.
It will become operational from the Academic Year 2016-17 at the transit or temporary campus at Old Government College of Engineering & Technology.
22. Maldives leaves Commonwealth after warnings over democracy.
Maldives has announced its decision to leave the saying it was treated unjustly and unfairly by the Commonwealth.
23. India has received the first parcel of crude oil from Iran to partly fill the strategic storage in southern India as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) storage.
24. Rajnath Singh inaugurates 10 days long ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav – 2016’.
The celebrated festival will continue to connect people with India’s rich culture till 24th October, 2016.
25. PM Narendra Modi unveiled the war memorial ‘Shaurya Smarak’ in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The ‘Shaurya Smarak’ was constructed by the state government in honour of those who laid down their lives for the country.
26. The mines ministry came out with mining surveillance system (MSS).
It is a pan India surveillance network using latest satellite technology, to check illegal mining.
27. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three hydro-electric projects (HEPs) with a generating capacity of 1,732 MW in Himachal Pradesh.
These three hydro-electric projects are:
Koldam HEP
Parbati HEP
Rampur HEP
28. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched national SC/ST (Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes) hub in Ludhiana.
It is for the welfare of SC/ST entrepreneurs.
The hub was started with an initial outlay of 490 crore rupees.
29. Kashmiri Hangul, a stag will be counted in “Critically Endangered” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
30. The Election Commission of India hosted the first ever International Conference on Voter Education in New Delhi.
It has been organized with an aim to share best practices, initiatives and policies of voter education by election management bodies.
31. The Union Ministry of Railways has declared the Okha-Kanalus and the Porbandar-Wansjaliya railway sections of Gujarat as Green Train Corridors.
All trains passing on these 175-km long lines (141-km-long Okha-Kanalus route and the 34-km-long Porbandar-Wansjaliya route) are now equipped with bio-toilets.
32. Maharashtra Government launched Kaushalya SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) initiative.
This is a skill development programme for students.
It is likely to generate employment for as many as 7.5 lakh people in state.
33. The Union Government has launched the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).
It seeks to get more people to fly in the smaller towns.
It will be rolled out by January, 2017 and will be in operation for a period of 10 years.
34. Narendra Modi has launched #Sandesh2Soldiers campaign to wish the soldiers on the eve of Diwali.
Through this campaign, people can send their blessing to soldiers.
35. India’s first Railway University is going to be established in Vadodara.
The state government was helping Indian Railways to identify the land to set up a full-fledged railway university.
The present campus for National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, (at Pratap Vilas Palace) will be initially used to start the railway university.
36. President Pranav Mukherjee has inaugurated the Sardar Patel Heart Institute at Ankleshwar in Gujarat.
The hospital is endowed with all modern facilities and advanced technologies.
37. TRAI has recommended Department of Telecom (DoT) to impose combined penalty of 3,050 crore rupees on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular.
It was found that users of reliance Jio were unable to contact these networks.
38. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Urja Ganga, the highly ambitious gas pipeline project in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
This project aims to provide piped cooking (PNG) gas to residents of the eastern region of the country and CNG gas for the vehicles.
39. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi to promote a sense of inclusiveness among the tribals.
The main purpose of this four-day carnival is to promote a sense of inclusiveness among the tribals.
40. The Uttarakhand High Court ordered state government to put a ban on the sale of whitener in the state following the death of a teenager from sniffing an excess of it.
The High Court issued the order by taking suo motu cognisance of the death of the 14-year-old boy due to sniffing excess whitener for a kick.
41. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has announced 2017 as the “Garib Kalyan Varsh”.
42. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi.
43. The one-man judicial committee on One Rank One Pension submitted its report to the Defense Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar.
The Central Government had appointed the committee under the Chairmanship of Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court.
44. The Union Cabinet approved establishment and operationalization of a National Academic Depository.
The decision aims at bringing another dimension and enhancement of the vision of Digital India.
45. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to formation of the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) at Berhampur in Odisha.
It will begin its operations from a transit or temporary campus from the Academic Year 2016-17 for the initial three years i.e. 2016-19.
46. Himachal Pradesh was declared ‘Open Defecation Free’.
With this, the state became India’s second state to get this status after Sikkim.
47. India’s first ‘Design Yatra’ was conducted in Kerala’s Kozhikode city in between October 29-31.
It was launched by the Institute of Indian Interior Designer.
During this programme, competitions, heritage walk, talks and interaction with students has been conducted.
List of Nobel Prize Winners and Laureates Across the Globe in 2016!
International – Across the Globe:
1. Pakistan has postponed the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit after India and four other countries announced to boycott the Summit.
The summit was scheduled to be held on November 9th and 10th, 2016 in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.
2. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to be Chief Guest on 2017 Republic Day.
This will be the second visit by the Crown Prince within a year.
3. France has become the first country in the world to ban disposable plastic cups and plates.
A new French law will require all disposable tableware to be made from 50% biologically-sourced materials that can be composted at home by January of 2020.
4. The words Aiyoh and Aiyah were added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) recently.
The words aiyah and aiyoh are interchangeable. Like many Indian words, Aiyoh and Aiyah can mean many things depending on context and tone like irritation, disgust, surprise, dismay, pain, lament, disappointment.
5. The 4th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting was held at Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The meeting adopted a five-pronged approach: –
Institution Building
Implementation
Integration
Innovation
Continuity
6. India has been ranked low 97th among the 118 countries surveyed in 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI).
In 2016 GHI, India has scored low 28.5 on a 0-100 point scale of the index that describes India’s hunger situation as “serious.
The index was released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
7. The Russian and Turkish leaders have agreed to intensify military and intelligence contacts after a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.
They also have agreed on the need for aid to get to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
8. India and Indonesia has kicked off their bilateral Maritime exercise at Belawan, Indonesia.
It aims for Cooperation in the field of Maritime security.
9. The first BRICS Trade Fair and Exhibition began in the National Capital, Delhi ahead of the BRICS political summit in Goa.
The fair is scheduled from October 12 – 14, 2016 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
10. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has formally elected Antonio Guterres as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.
He will succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon who has completed two five-year terms as the world’s top diplomat.
11. India has donated INR 9.3 million to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
It will help in its welfare work for the people of South Africa.
12. Global Travel and Tourism report by world economic forum has released the most unsafe countries of the world.
India got 13th rank while Pakistan the 4th rank under most unsafe country in the world.
Nigeria was ranked as the most unsafe country with a score of 2.65.
Finland (6.7) is followed by Qatar (6.61) as the safest countries in the world.
13. The five-nation group of emerging economies – BRICS has agreed to set up an independent BRICS Rating Agency.
It is set to challenge western hegemony in the world of finance.
14. The 8th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit was held from 15 to 16 October 2016 in Benaulim city of Goa, India.
15. India has been placed at 130th position among the 190 countries in the recently released World Bank’s ease of doing business index for the year 2017.
The index was released as part of the World Bank’s annual report Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All.
16. India has been ranked 87th out of 144 countries on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2016.
India has climbed 21 spots from 108th position in 2015.
17. The fourth edition of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise ‘MITRA SHAKTI 2016’ began at Sinha Regimental Centre in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka.
The main aim was to enhance interoperability while carrying out Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency operations under the UN Mandate.
18. India has ranked very poorly at 133 in a new Global Youth Development Index.
The rankings were compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat on the countries’ prospects for young people in employment, education, health, civic and political spheres.
Sports:
1. Kieren Dsouza becomes the first Indian to complete World’s toughest race, Spartathlon.
The race involves a distance of 246km from Athens to Sparta which D’Souza completed in 33 hours, 2 minutes and 25 seconds and stood 86th among 370 participants.
2. India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar wins Korea Open.
She won a long trophy drought with a one-stroke victory at the Shinhan Donghae Open in South Korea for his sixth title on the Asian Tour.
3. The Indian men’s hockey team lifted the 4th U-18 Asia Cup after defeating hosts Bangladesh 5-4 in a pulsating summit clash in Dhaka.
The young Indians held their nerves in the dying moments of the nail-biting finale as they exacted revenge for a 4-5 loss to the hosts in the tournament opener.
4. The first edition of the BRICS Under-17 Football tournament begins in Goa.
The tournament featuring Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) has been organized on the occasion of the 8th BRICS summit that will be held in Goa on the 15th of this month.
5. Jitu Rai wins Silver at World Cup in Italy in Shooting.
6. Sprinter Srabani Nanda has bagged the 24th Ekalabya Award for the year 2016.
She won the award in recognition of her sporting excellence.
7. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup kicked off in the presence of captains of the 12 competing nations, including hosts India.
It will be the first time that 12 nations will participate for one grand title in Ahmedabad.
8. Andy Murray won the 2016 China Open Men’s Singles title at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China.
He defeated Grigor Dimitrov by 6–4, 7–6.
9. Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska won the 2016 China Open Women’s Singles at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China.
10. Indian captain Virat Kohli was presented with the ICC Test Championship mace for leading his team to the top of the Test Team Rankings.
India was guaranteed the number-one spot on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings after it took a 2-0 lead in Kolkata.
11. Indian shooter Jitu Rai named ‘Champion of Champions’ by ISSF.
He has been awarded for pistol shooting in 2016 by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
12. Nico Rosberg of Germany and Japanese GP won the Japan Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit.
Rosberg extended his lead over Hamilton to 33 points in the overall standings following his ninth win of the season and with four rounds remaining.
13. Ravichandran Ashwin has topped in test matches.
He was named man of the series after he finished with 27 wickets in a 3-0 sweep by India.
Now he has 220 wickets, the most by any bowler after 39 Tests.
14. The Formula-F1 driver from Australia Mark Webber will retire from professional racing at the end of this year in Bahrain.
Webber won the World Endurance Championship (WEC) title in 2015.
15. Brazil has lifted the 1st BRICS U-17 Football Tournament 2016 held in Goa.
In the Finals they defeated South Africa 5-1.
16. Indian Cricket Team has become the first team to play 900 ODIs.
900th One Day International (ODI) match between India and New Zealand was held at the HPCA stadium in Dharamshala.
Out of the 899 ODI’s, India has won 454, lost 399, tied 7, while 39 have been abandoned.
17. Sourabh Varma clinched the men’s singles title at the Chinese Taipei Open.
He defeated Malaysia’s Daren Liew in the summit clash of the $55,000 Grand Prix tournament in Taipei.
18. Four Indian wrestlers have won four medals individually including a gold medal, at the sixth edition of the TAFISA World Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Dalmiya had won gold medal in 60 kg category.
Luv Singh had won the silver medal in the 80 kg category.
Naveen Kumar had won the bronze medal in 90 Kg category.
Josil had won the bronze medal in the super heavyweight category.
19. Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat retains WBC Asia welterweight title.
He defeated Australia’s Ben Kite.
20. The book titled “Driven: The Virat Kohli Story” has launched.
It is written by senior journalist Vijay Lokapally and published by Bloomsbury India.
21. Decision Review System (DRS) will be used in upcoming India- England cricket test series.
Indian Cricket Team is the only Test team not to have accepted DRS, which involves predicting the ball’s path.
22. Supreme Court has stopped all financial transactions between the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and state cricket associations.
The apex court directed BCCI, the apex cricket body not to disburse any funds to state cricket associations till they resolve to abide by Justice RM Lodha Committee recommendations.
23. A wolf who radiates fun, charm and confidence has been chosen by the Russian public as the Official Mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, named Zabivaka.
This mascot’s name signifies “the one who scores.”
24. India has won kabaddi World cup 2016.
India scored 38 and beat Iran.
25. North Korea won the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Japan.
26. The team of Indian Roller Skaters claimed their first ever International medal in Asian championship.
Vikram Ingale, Nikhilesh Tabhane and Dhanush Babu have won India’s first ever senior international roller skating medal, by securing the bronze medal in the 3000m team relay event in Lishui, People’s Republic of China
List of National Sports Awards 2016, Check out the Winners!
Awards & Recognition:
1. Murga wins first prize at Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival.
The short film was directed by young filmmaker Katyayan Shivpuri from Maharashtra.
2. Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan won the 2016 Nobel Medicine Prize.
He won the prize for his work on Autophagy.
It is a process whereby cells “eat themselves” which when disrupted can cause Parkinson’s and diabetes.
3. South African teen Kiara Nirghin has won a $50,000 scholarship at Google Science Fair.
She developed a cheaper “super-absorbent material” that helps soil retain water using orange peel.
4. British scientists David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics.
They studied in “strange states” of matter.
5. History writer Nayanjot Lahiri has won the prestigious 2016 John F. Richards Prize for her book “Ashoka in Ancient India”.
6. Trio of Jean-Pierre Sauvage, J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa have won the prestigious 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
They are awarded for their individual efforts in developing molecular machines.
7. The International Astronautical Federation’s inducts renowned space scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao has been awarded the Hall of Fame.
Rao was awarded for his contribution towards the development of India’s space technology.
8. Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was honoured with prestigious Sustainable Development Leadership Award by the The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
9. Arjun Vajpai, a professional mountaineer from Noida, became the youngest in the world to scale the Mount Cho Oyu.
It is the 6th highest mountain peak in the world at 8,188 metres above sea level.
10. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for FARC agreement.
A total of 376 People were nominated this year for the prize.
11. Vinaya Manchaiah, has been named to the 2016 class of the ‘Jerger Future Leaders of Audiology’ by the American Academy of Audiology.
He is an Indian-American associate professor at Lamar University in Texas
12. Chandigarh International Airports limited (CHIAL) won IBC award.
13. Veteran actor Ian McKellen was honoured at the UK Theatre Awards on for his individual contributions to British theatre.
The 77-year-old actor is known for his roles in the “X-Men” and “Lord of the Rings” films.
14. Two economists Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom have won the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has selected them for their contributions to contract theory which tells how contracts help people deal with conflicting interests.
15. Former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank awarded by Ugandan Govt. for his literary work.
He was awarded by the Ugandan government for promoting human values through his literature.
16. R. A. Mashelkar, former Director-General of CSIR, has been conferred the V. Krishnamurthy Award for excellence by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Organisation Development.
The award was instituted in 2000 to recognize excellence in management.
17. Kirtiraj Kundlik Gaikwad, an Indian scientist with the Department of Packaging, has been awarded the prestigious IAFP Young scientist scholarship award.
He has researched on “development of novel oxygen absorbing package in the field of active packaging for oxygen sensitive food products”.
18. Eminent writer C. Radhakrishnan was selected for the prestigious Mathrubhumi Literary Award for the year 2016.
He was selected by a panel chaired by novelist M Mukundan in recognition of his contribution to the field of literature.
19. Robert De Niro will receive Chaplin Award.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced Robert De Niro as the recipient of the 44th Chaplin Award.
20. Sonam Kapoor was awarded ET Panache’s ‘Trendsetter Awards 2016′.
The award recognizes the efforts of entrepreneurs, innovators, Newsmakers and athletes whose stories inspire millions and whose services transform lives.
21. State Bank of Patiala has been awarded for Excellence in MSME lending.
22. Two doctors Randeep Guleria (Head of Pulmonology- SGRH)) and C.S. Yadav (All India Institute of Medical Sciences-AIIMS) have been selected for the prestigious Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy Award.
They both received the award for excellence in the field of medicine.
23. A team from the Indian Army’s Gorkha Rifles has won a gold medal at one of the most grueling exercises in the world.
Team 2/8 Gorkha was awarded a gold medal in Exercise Cambrian Patrol organized by the British Army.
24. Yazidi survivors and public advocates Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar are this year’s joint laureates of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
The Sakharov award ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on 14 December.
25. The Uttar Pradesh government has declared the list of Yash Bharti awardees 2016.
54 personalities have been selected for the coveted award for the year 2016-17.
Some of the prominent names are Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah, PayTM CEO Vijay Shekhar, Paralympic athlete Varun Kumar, Qawwali singers Aftab and Hashim (Sabri Brothers), Film director Saurabh Shukla.
26. Almatti dam, one of the largest reservoirs in Karnataka, was chosen for the World Bank’s Award of Excellence.
The award was given for best utilization of funds for renovation to enhance the strength of the dam.
27. Antoine Griezmann has been named as the best player in La Liga.
The awards’ ceremony was held in Valencia.
28. G. Balakrishana has won the title of Mr. Universe 2016.
He also won the Mr. Universe Under-24 junior contest in 2013 in Germany.
29. Paul Beatty has won the 2016 Man Booker Prize.
With this he becomes the first US author to win this prestigious literary award.
He was bestowed with this award for his racial satirical novel ‘The Sellout’ at a ceremony held in London’s Guildhall.
Mergers & Acquisitions:
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